By Tangerine Clarke
Due to the ongoing coronavirus
pandemic across the world that has
depleted the workforce, and more than
ever, in the health care profession,
countries like the United Kingdom,
as done in the 1950’s, is once again,
recruiting Caribbean healthcare professionals
to meet the demand of its
aging population.
In a recent post on it Facebook
page, Hubb Central Services Inc. put
out a call to caregivers in Barbados
and the Caribbean to apply for positions,
as care assistants to work in
‘elderly care homes’ in the private UK
healthcare sector.
All applications are to be done via
Recruiting Hubb, Barbados. Candidates
must be fully vaccinated or planning/
willing to be vaccinated before
they are vetted for the positions.
Hubb Central Services is working
in collaboration with the UK Care
Workers Program Recruitment of
Care Workers, to fill the positions that
will be one ‘step up’ from care assistant
and one ‘step down’ from senior
care assistant.
It said, contracts will be for 48 contracted
hours per week at £10.13 per
hour. Workers will have the option of
workdays or night shifts on a rotation
basis as required by the home, including
some weekends.
Positions are open for nurses, nursing
assistants, nursing auxiliaries,
and care workers, who have good and
clear experience in taking patients
temperatures and pulses.
Additionally, persons must be
trained in weighing, checking
patients’ vital signs, and performing
urine tests. Extracting blood samples,
is also preferred (but not essential) in
order to be qualified for the positions.
Caribbean Life, F 18 ebruary 11-17, 2022
Mayor Eric Adams dines with City Council Members and the NYC Hospitality Alliance at Mario’s on Arthur Avenue
in the Bronx to show his support for outdoor dining on Feb. 6. Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Offi ce
By Nelson A. King
As the city’s financially-devastated
restaurants and bars struggle to
recoup two years of losses caused
by the pandemic, forced shutdowns,
occupancy restrictions, office towers
empty of workers, next to no tourism
and inadequate government relief, a
survey conducted by the NYC Hospitality
Alliance found that nine in 10
restaurants say outdoor dining was
vital to their survival and will be key
for their long-term success.
According to owners and operators
of 726 restaurants representing
all five boroughs, 91 percent said
the City Council enacting permanent
outdoor dining program is “very
important” to the future of their
business; with 95 percent of respondents
saying that outdoor dining was
“very important” to the survival of
their business during the past two
years.
As outdoor dining is widely recognized
for saving an estimated 100,000
industry jobs, with the majority of
these jobs held by immigrant and
minority New Yorkers, eight in 10
restaurant owners are concerned
they’ll have to lay off workers should
the program not be made permanent,
while 92 percent of respondents
believe that a permanent program
would allow their business to hire
more restaurant staff in the future.
The Alliance’s survey also reaffirms
the program’s broad support,
finding that 89 percent of restaurants
say outdoor dining is very
popular among customers.
Mayor Eric Adams and the new
City Council inherited the outdoor
dining program still in its temporary
emergency status.
According to the Alliance, the
Mayor expressed his support for
developing a permanent program,
alongside City Council Members during
a weekend lunch at Mario’s Restaurant
on Arthur Avenue in the
Bronx.
“Outdoor dining was an absolute
lifeline for restaurants and bars that
were financially devastated by the
COVID-19 pandemic,” said Andrew
Rigie, executive director of the NYC
Hospitality Alliance. “Since its inception,
the Open Restaurants Program
has saved 100,000 industry jobs and
thousands of small businesses from
financial collapse, and an overwhelming
majority of hospitality customers
love it.
“Based on the success and popularity
of this emergency program,
the City Council must now develop
and enact a standardized and sustainable
permanent outdoor dining
program that works for restaurants
and the communities they serve,
so New York City can enjoy dining
alfresco for many years to come,”
Rigie added.
“This administration is focused on
an equitable recovery for New York
City, and helping our local restaurants
stay open for our communities,
our neighborhoods, and our
economy is critical to that mission,”
said Deputy Mayor for Economic
and Workforce Development Maria
Torres-Springer. “The Open Restaurants
program has been an invaluable
tool for local restaurants through
the pandemic, and we are committed
to working with the City Council to
make the program permanent in a
way that works for everyone.”
Since June 2020, NYC Hospitality
Alliance said more than 11,000 restaurants
in New York City have been
certified for outdoor dining.
The program remains popular with
customers, with nearly 70 percent of
New York City residents supporting
a permanent outdoor dining in some
form, according to a survey released
by NYC Department of Transportation,
with some 84 percent of Manhattan
residents supporting it.
Following nearly unanimous
approval from The City Planning
Commission, a public hearing on the
proposal was held by the Committee
on Consumer and Worker Protection,
jointly with the Subcommittee on
Zoning and Franchises, on Tuesday.
A healthcare worker vaccinates
2-year-old Michaelle Laguerre at a
malnutrition clinic run by UNICEF,
in Les Cayes, Haiti, Wednesday,
May 26, 2021. Associated Press/Odelyn
Joseph/File
Most NYC restaurants’ futures hinge
on permanent outdoor dining: Survey
UK recruits
Caribbean
healthcare
workers